By J. M. Somoni

The league opener, which will also double as the Dar es Salaam derby, was pushed forward to give the national team more time to prepare for a friendly with Palestine

The Tanzanian Charity Shield match between the country's football giants, Simba and Young Africans (Yanga) has been rescheduled to August 17, four days later than the original date.

The season opener has been pushed so as to give the Tanzanian national team, Taifa Stars time to prepare for a friendly match with Palestine. The team is expected to leave for Ramallah, Palestine early next month for an international against the hosts on August 10.

"A Charity Shield match between Simba and Yanga will now take place on August 17 instead of August 13 as earlier announced," Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) information officer Boniface Wambura told Daily News.

"Taifa Stars are expected to return home on August 11, thus technically, it could be unfair for Simba and Yanga because their players were to train with their colleagues for only a day ahead of the match," Wambura said.

"The Charity Shield match is a big game and the two teams need ample time to fine tune for such encounter," he added.

The two clubs are responsible for the bulk of the players in the national team.